The 6 Traits of Writing

Ideas

Writing with good ideas has:

• A clearly stated main idea• Interesting and unusual details• Focus – all the details support the main

idea• A knowledgeable author – the writer

should know his/her topic WELL!

Use Your Senses!• Imagine your favorite place:

– What sights, smells, and feelings come to mind?– What do you notice that not everyone would?– What are the most striking details?

• Write a sentence for each sensory recollection of your favorite place:– I see______________________________– I hear_____________________________– I smell_____________________________– I taste_____________________________– I feel______________________________

Focusing Your Topic• A big, unfocused topic does NOT make for

interesting writing!– Animals (way too big)– Wild animals (still too big)– Tigers (better, but still a lot to write about them)– Tigers in India (what about them?)– Tigers in India are rapidly becoming extinct (Focused)

• How is the last topic better than the first? Give specific examples!

• What could be some details that you would write about the final topic? (Tigers in India are rapidly becoming extinct.)

Focusing Your Topic• Begin with a BIG topic – earth, people,

education, etc. Write that topic down.• Now, “funnel” your topic through four levels,

trying each time to make it smaller and more manageable.

• End at level 4 with a statement about your topic, a statement that can be supported, defended, or expanded.– That statement is your thesis statement!

Supporting Your Main Idea• A good writer has studied his or her topic and

knows it well. • Good writing includes interesting and unusual

details.• Every detail should support the main idea.• What is the effect on readers when you share

what they already know?• What is the effect of sharing new, little-known

information?• How should your purpose – or audience –

affect which details you select?